Greek-Inspired Quinoa Salad

Long gone are the days of thinking salad is boring and consists mainly of lettuce. The variations and combinations are countless – some are based on greens, some are based on tomatoes, and more substantial versions are based on grains or pasta. Unfortunately, there is a huge misconception that all salads are healthy… in essence, they can be, until you drench them in creamy salad dressings. A lot of restaurant’s salads contain more calories and fat than a main course (entrée).

I’m fortunate enough to enjoy salads without the creamy dressings. I simply love salads that are served with freshly squeezed lemon juice, or with a smidgen of lemon juice and olive oil dressing… herbs also go a long way.

Greek salad is J’s favorite salad – especially when it’s rustic, with large chunks of feta cheese, pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, really good olives, thinly sliced onions and very little lettuce. I was feeling like a change, so I combined the idea of a Greek salad together with quinoa, with a few extras including artichokes, avocados and toasted walnuts*. The result is delicious – it’s light, packed full of flavor and texture, and simply moreish. We enjoyed it for dinner as a main dish, however, if you prefer, you can serve it as a side salad at summer barbecues, or whenever you fancy.

* I was going to use pine nuts, but with the current situation on pine nuts (re: pine mouth or pine nut syndrome), I thought I wouldn’t risk the chance of ruining my taste buds for a few nuts… I enjoy food too much for that.

Hi, Thanks for the visiting. How did the quinoa salad turn out? Your blog is fascinating, I’ll read more tonight! I’m especially interested in your trials in diet change, since I’ve recently been told to cut out gluten completely (Hashimoto disease), and to be honest with you, I cannot feel any change, guess my scheduled blood test will tell me more in 3 weeks time.